Raymond Guffey III, customer service manager for The Parts House, in Jacksonville, Fla., a member of the Automotive Distribution Network, under the Parts Plus program, is the 2013 Counterman Counter Professional of the Year, sponsored by Affinia Group Inc., Raybestos Chassis And WIX Filters.
This is the 28th year Babcox Media’s Counterman magazine has recognized a parts professional who goes above and beyond the call of duty and continually seeks out training and educational opportunities.
As part of the award, Guffey and his wife received an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to attend the AAPEX show. He was also honored during the AWDA and Northwood University of the Aftermarket luncheons, as well as a special recognition dinner, hosted by Babcox Media.
Guffey was chosen from more than 70 nominations received by a selection committee at Babcox Media. Guffey stood out because of skills, knowledge and treatment of both customers and colleagues.
“Guffey is a selfless, compassionate individual; TPH opened up a new store location, and he was one of the first to volunteer with helping set up the warehouse and customer service department,” his nomination states. “He has never refused a request to help with any project. He exemplifies what it means to be in the customer service industry.”
Guffey was instrumental in the development and implementation of The Parts House’s new Sales Order Entry (SOE) program. His extensive knowledge was vital in the creation of an effective and comprehensive auto parts lookup and ordering system. He continues to extend his knowledge to employees across the company. TPH recently acquired a new company, and Guffey took it upon himself to help train the counter professionals of the former company on the inner workings of TPH’s SOE system, according to the nomination.
When top management discusses TPH counter professionals, Guffey’s name always comes up as the “go-to” guy, according to the nomination. “Our regional vice president recently stated that, ‘If I was starting a counter professional team and could draft any player, Guffey would be my No. 1 pick.’ This feeling is consistent with customer preference; oftentimes, a customer will call TPH for a part and specifically request to be helped by Guffey, even if it means they have to wait until he is available.”
Counterman recently spoke to a TPH vice president, who has this to say about Guffey: “He is clearly one of our most-beloved guys who works with our customers. We often send him to store locations to problem-solve. Anytime we send him anywhere to work with a team, that team gets better.”
Read more about Raymond in the December issue of Counterman.
